Iain Martin is a political commentator, and a former editor of The Scotsman and former deputy editor of The Sunday Telegraph. He is the author of Making It Happen: Fred Goodwin, RBS and the men who blew up the British economy, published by Simon & Schuster.. As well as this blog, he writes a column for The Sunday Telegraph. You can read more about Iain by visiting his website

One of the most unattractive aspects of modern life is grievance-hunting. Many people seem to spend a large amount of their time purposely looking-out for things to be offended by. In Scotland, my homeland, which I fled six years ago fearing a Nationalist show-trial over my free-market Unionist views, it is even worse and getting more so by the day. The Nats are on a hair-trigger when it comes to being offended, or "pure affronted" as they used to say in Glasgow.

No matter, it unleashed a deluge of Nationalist outrage. For hours the Twittersphere featured weeping and wailing Nationalists demanding that the Economist apologise for its "racist" slur. "Any right-thinking Scot should be offended by this garbage," said one. I hate the idea of there being such a thing as a "right-thinking Scot". Who is drawing up the definition of right-thinking, and what are the sanctions against those of us who who dare to demur?

From the relative security of a "safe-house" in a secret location in the West of Scotland (I am here for a few days visiting members of the anti-Salmond resistance, aka my family) I decided to engage some of these "cyber-nats" on Twitter.

It's not, I said, really racism is it? Racism is apartheid, George Wallace, discrimination in education or employment and the slave trade, not a magazine cover making a joke about economics. "It is racism" came back the cry.

How, asked one particularly confused individual, would the English like a Scottish magazine to brand England "Fascist-land"? Well, first I don't think the English would pay very much attention, and second there is a big difference between calling someone skint and calling them a fascist.

It continued on BBC Radio Scotland this morning. In a panel discussion on an Any Questions type show from Dumfries a leading Nationalist MSP demanded (seriously) that everyone on the panel condemn The Economist. At this rate it will soon be a crime to criticise the SNP and the notion of independence. I think jokes may be banned too.

Billy Connolly, at the height of his powers, used to rail magnificently against small-minded Nationalists, always looking for an excuse to get aggrieved about England. Alex Salmond's pitch is meant to be that modern nationalism isn't like that. It is supposed to be confident, relaxed, cosmopolitan. Several of my good friends are those kind of nationalists – kind-hearted, generous types with record collections that extend beyond Runrig, the Proclaimers and Hue and Cry.

But this Economist row, and the chippy, humourless, pompous, furious reaction from other Nats is most revealing. As a friend pointed out on Twitter: "Sleepy unionists! Take note of the panicky SNP response to the front page of the Economist. Not as confident as you thought they were?" Indeed.